Mayor Larry Pritchett said that 30 to 40 years ago, three businesses and three houses in the city's south end were connected to a storm drain instead of a sewer line. The storm drain from the neighborhood empties into the harbor near Snow Marine Park.

Human E. coli bacteria have been detected in the water, Pritchett said.

The three houses have already been connected to the sewer line. The city is working to connect the businesses to the sewer line and the work could be completed by next Tuesday, Pritchett said.

Last month, the city closed down Snow Marine Park because high E. coli levels in the water had been attributed to all the dogs that use the park. Snow Marine Park has a pipe that empties into the harbor in a different area from the neighborhood storm drain pipe.

Dog waste in the park had been cleaned up, with city officials assuming that dog waste was a partial cause of the E. coli in the water, Pritchett said.

Rockland is now checking possible problems throughout the south end neighborhood, which has hundreds of homes. Dye and smoke testing of sewer lines and drains is occurring throughout the neighborhood, the mayor said.

The area has a mixture of sewer and storm drains, with some ranging in age from 40 years old to more than 100 years old.